Contrary to the progress made in overall healthcare, the problems associated with health care-associated infections have grown steadily worse. Furthermore, the emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria and spore “Super Bugs” and their presence in the hard surface environment are recognized as a significant threat in the transmission of infectious disease and associated mortality. Numerous scientifically peer-reviewed studies support the role of the environment in disease transmission. In recognition of this data, thorough disinfection of hard surfaces is an effective and evidence-based way to reduce the presence of these organisms that cause infections and mortality.
Published data reviewing the effectiveness of health care cleaning indicate that greater than 50% of patient room surfaces are not effectively cleaned and/or disinfected after a patient is discharged from the institution. Similar data reflect cleaning proficiency in non-health care environments. As a result, clinicians, health care personnel, visitors, and patients come in contact with bacteria or spores that remain in the room from a prior patient.
Introducing UV-C energy is an evidence-based way to manage the presence of bacteria and spore—including multi-drug resistant organisms. Disinfecting hard surfaces, such as those found in patient areas, can be performed by exposing the hard surfaces to UVC energy that is harmful to micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and spore. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is proven sterilization method that uses ultraviolet (UV) energy at sufficiently short wavelengths to break-down and eradicate these organisms. It is believed that the short wavelength radiation destroys organisms at a micro-organic level. It is also believed that UV energy works by destroying the nucleic acids in these organisms, thereby causing a disruption in the organisms' DNA. Once the DNA (or RNA) chain is disrupted, the organisms are unable to cause infection.
In addition to the effectiveness described above, there are advantages to using UV-C energy alone or in concert with other disinfection modalities. UV-C requires only electricity; there is no off-gassing of chemicals frequently associated with chemical based products. In the event a room must be occupied immediately, the introduction of UV-C energy can be immediately terminated and the room immediately occupied. Alternative disinfection modalities, on the other hand, often result in lingering chemicals or agents that must be cleared from the room prior to entry. UV-C energy leaves no residue, does not require drying time, cannot be spilled, requires little manpower to apply, requires very little skill on the part of the operator, and uses long-lasting bulbs that require very little inventory management.
Using UV-C energy to disinfect hard surfaces does present some unique problems. For example, two primary challenges impact efficacy and energy delivery of UV-C energy: shadows and distance. UV-C emitters may not be able to eradicate bacteria in shadowed areas because the energy is delivered along a line-of-sight. Though reflected UV-C light may have some disinfecting ability, the amount of reflected energy depends on the surface from which the light is reflected and cannot be relied upon to adequately disinfect a shadowed area. As such, shadowed areas must be eliminated for effective disinfection. In addition, the UV-C emitting source may itself create shadows. As such, one must consider address these shadows for effective delivery of UV-C energy.
Second, the attempt to introduce UV-C energy to a space is dramatically impacted by the Inverse Square Law. This Law states that the intensity of the energy delivered to a surface is proportional to the inverse of the square of the distance between the energy source and the object. In other words, the energy received from the UV emitting source decreases exponentially as the distance is increased. Thus, if one object is twice as far away from a light source as another object, the further object receives only one quarter the energy as the closer object. Knowing specific energy levels are required to eradicate specific organism, this can dramatically impact efficacy.
Third, UV light sources strong enough to kill bacteria can draw a substantial amount of electricity and generate heat.
As such, there is a need for a UV hard-surface disinfection system that exploits the advantages of UV energy, while also addressing the aforementioned problems.
More specifically, there is a need for a UV hard-surface disinfection system that maximizes the effectiveness of the energy being emitted from its bulbs while eliminating shadows and reaching all surfaces in a treated area despite fall-off due to distances from the light source(s).